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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5, just a 
bit of a word about our summer schedule here. Mike Kirkpatrick, 
as you know, is coming. He'll be here actually in the 
lower mainland tomorrow, and he's going to start the internship 
next week. So I suspect that he will be 
preaching several times in the summer in the evening services. 
So God willing, we will engage on an exposition of the Ten Commandments 
starting tonight and over the summer months. And then when 
fall returns, we'll return to Second Timothy, hopefully finish 
that by the end of the year, and then start in the Book of 
James in our Sunday evening services. But it's always good to be reminded 
about the Ten Commandments. They are applicable to us today 
in New Covenant religion. This evening we're going to consider 
specifically Deuteronomy 5 verses 1 to 6. Primarily our emphasis 
is upon the preface to the Ten Commandments, but I do want to 
read beginning in chapter 5 at verse 1. Hear now the word of 
the living God. And Moses called all Israel and 
said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which 
I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be 
careful to observe them. The Lord our God made a covenant 
with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant 
with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all 
of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face 
to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood 
between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word 
of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire and you did 
not go up the mountain. He said, I am the Lord, your 
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house 
of bondage. You shall have no other gods 
before me. You shall not make for yourself 
a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven 
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water 
under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, 
nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am 
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children 
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing 
mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of 
the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 
who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall 
labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath 
of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you, 
nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your 
female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your 
cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your 
male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 
And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the 
Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and 
by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God 
commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your 
mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your 
days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land 
which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. 
You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness 
against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's 
wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, 
his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, 
or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to 
all your assembly in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the 
cloud, and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added 
no more. And he wrote them on two tablets 
of stone and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
bless our time in the word of God now. Give us the Holy Spirit 
to teach us and to lead us and to instruct us. God, this is 
the most important section of Holy Scripture. Give us clarity 
in our understanding. Give us grace, Father, and the 
power of the Spirit to pursue these things in a manner that 
is pleasing in your sight. And again, forgive us now for 
all sin and transgression. The reading of the law certainly 
stirs up within us that realization, that knowledge that we have fallen 
so short of the standard that you have established. We thank 
you again for the Lord Jesus. We thank you that he is the perfect 
law keeper that he fulfilled this law without blemish or spot, 
that he rendered unto you a perfect righteousness, and that he died 
as a sacrifice in our place. And thank you again for the resurrection, 
the current session, and the fact that he will return again 
in glory to judge the living and the dead. Be with us now, 
we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, in the book of Deuteronomy, 
essentially what we have is preparation prior to the entrance into the 
promised land. Of course, the law, the Decalogue, 
or the Ten Commandments, or Ten Words, I'll use those statements 
or those identifiers synonymously. The Ten Commandments are referred 
to by that description in the Old Testament. The Ten Commandments, 
also called the Words. and simply Decalogue means 10 
words. So if you hear me say, Decalogue, 
don't raise an eyebrow and say, what is he speaking about? That 
simply means 10 words or 10 commandments. The 10 commandments were given 
in Exodus chapter 20. Then the people of God ultimately 
went into the wilderness. They wandered, they rebelled, 
and a bulk of them fell under the judgment and the wrath and 
the fury of God. This is the second generation. 
They are gathered on the plains of Moab. The book of Deuteronomy 
takes place in about a month, maybe not even that long. It's 
a series of exhortations or addresses by Moses to the children of Israel, 
preparing them to enter into the promised land. Of course, 
by the end of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses dies. Joshua is appointed 
as his successor. The next canonical book is Joshua, 
and he is the one that leads them into the promised land. 
Now, when we get to the book of Deuteronomy, the largest section 
deals with God's law. The section begins in chapter 
4, verse 44, and ends in chapter 26, verse 19. We not only have 
the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue, or these ten words, They serve 
as the foundation of the covenant relationship, but then we see 
continuing on from chapter 6 all the way to chapter 26, these 
things are opened up and unfolded and expounded so that they will 
apply to the nation of Israel in the land that the Lord their 
God is giving to them. So that's a bit of a context 
for our study tonight. Now tonight as we look specifically 
at the preface that is found in verse 6, prior to verse 6 
we have some additional context. So we'll look first at the summons 
to obey the law verses 1 to 5 and secondly the preface to the Decalogue 
in verse 6. And then in subsequent Sunday 
nights, we'll take up each of the commandments. I suspect some 
of them may take more than one Sunday. The fourth commandment, 
for instance, the Sabbath is certainly a hot topic today. 
Certainly it's a difficulty even when we have the doctrine down. 
Persons differ in their practice and application. We'll probably 
spend a little bit more time there, but this is our roadmap 
for the summertime. Note first, with reference to 
the summons to obey the law in verses 1 to 5, in the first place 
there is an announcement to all Israel, verse 1. Moses called 
all Israel and said to them, hear, O Israel, the statutes 
and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you 
may learn them and be careful to observe them. This is absolutely 
crucial. God the Lord does not speak his 
word so that we can resist it. God the Lord does not give us 
his word so we can neglect it. God the Lord does not speak to 
creatures so that we can take and leave what it is we please. 
God demands obedience. God had redeemed this people. 
We'll see that specifically revealed to us in the preface. The context 
for these commandments is God's redeeming grace. And the same 
thing is true with us. We oftentimes come under the 
Word of God with this lackadaisical attitude, or this take it or 
leave it attitude. And that is simply unacceptable. 
What we need to appreciate in the New Covenant is that it's 
the same as in the Old Covenant. Notice what Moses says, Hear, 
O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing 
today. I want you to hear the word of God. I want you to open 
your ears to the word of God. I want you to receive the truth 
of the word of God. Not simply so you'll be more 
educated on your way to hell, but I want you to hear these 
things that The end of verse 1, you may learn them and be 
careful to observe them. It is absolutely crucial that 
the New Covenant Israel gather together to hear the Word of 
God. And when they hear the Word of 
God, that they receive it, that they learn it, that they appropriate 
it, that they put it into practice. This morning, in our confession 
study, we studied the doctrine of sanctification. Those who 
are justified freely by God's grace will indeed undergo sanctification. There will be a progressive growth 
in grace. There will be pursuing those 
things which are pleasing to God, putting off sin, killing 
sin, living unto God, pursuing righteousness. That's what it's 
all about. The means by which God does that 
in the lives of his people is through the Word, the Spirit, 
and prayer, and other means that are specified in the Holy Scriptures. Moses calls the people together 
so that they may not simply have a Bible study, but that they 
may hear the law of God, so that when they go into the land, they 
will do the law of God. Go back in chapter 4 for just 
a moment. Notice in verse 5, Surely I have 
taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded 
me that you should act according to them in the land which you 
go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them. For this is 
your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who 
will hear all these statutes and say, Surely this great nation 
is a wise and understanding people." Part of Israel's mission was 
to mediate the blessings of God to the nations around them. Part 
of Israel's mission was to obey God in such a way that the surrounding 
pagans and heathens would look at them and say, wow, look at 
this people. They have great laws that come 
from a great God. Notice verse 7, for what great 
nation is there that has God so near to it as the Lord our 
God is to us? for whatever reason we may call 
upon him. And what great nation is there 
that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this 
law which I set before you of this day? Only take heed to yourself 
and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your 
eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the 
days of your life." And the same is true for us. We hear the word 
of God, we understand the word of God, we put the word of God 
into practice and hopefully our pagan neighbors or our pagan 
workmates will say, wow, look at this particular person. Is 
this what Jesus tells us? Let our light so shine before 
men that they may see our good works and give glory to God. 
That's the way we are to function. We are to appropriate God's Word. It's not enough simply to have 
a lot of theological understanding. Though that's a good thing. Have 
a lot of theological understanding, but put it into practice. Meredith 
Klein comments on the language here. Here, learn, keep, do. This chapter opens and closes 
with a charge to follow carefully. the divine stipulations of the 
covenant that was in process of solemnization. God the Lord 
redeemed them to be a people for his glory and for his honor 
and for his praise. Notice, secondly, the reminder 
of Horeb, verses 2 and 3. The Lord our God made a covenant 
with us in Horeb, that is Mount Sinai. Sinai is only used I think 
once in the book of Deuteronomy. Horeb is the preferred title 
for that particular mountain. The Lord our God made a covenant 
with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant 
with our fathers but with us, those who are here today, all 
of us who are alive. The declaration of the law and 
the covenant that Moses is now engaged in is not a brand new 
thing. It was already given at Sinai. When he says here specifically 
he did not make this covenant with our fathers, he most certainly 
did. I think the language means he 
did not make this covenant with our fathers alone, but we were 
included. It wasn't just they or them. It was with us. We are to be 
a faithful people. God the Lord promised to Abraham 
that he would give them the land, and we are on the brink of entering 
into that land. We are to receive these things, 
we are to do these things, and we are to undergo. And then notice, 
with reference to this summons to obey the law, the blessing 
of a personal God. Verses 4 and 5, the Lord talked 
with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the 
fire. I'd like to pass out a sheet 
of paper now and give everybody a pencil and ask you the simple 
question, is this a proper or an improper predication? Hopefully 
you'd all say it's an improper predication because God does 
not have a face, does he? God is spirit. This is an improper 
predication. He speaks in the manner of men. 
It is highlighting the reality that God is a personal God. God relates to His creatures. This does not mean physically 
or visually, but as Gil says, publicly, audibly, clearly, And 
distinctly, the children of Israel heard the voice of the Lord God 
Most High. And when they heard the voice 
of the Lord God Most High, it can be explained the way Moses 
does in verse 4. The Lord talked with you face 
to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. And then 
notice that God used a mediator. Verse 5, God's way is via mediation. Certainly Moses served as the 
mediator in this old covenant setting. Of course, the new covenant, 
the mediator is Christ. He is the surety of a better 
covenant. He is the one who comes to bring to fruition that covenant 
that is founded on better promises, that affords a better hope, and 
is termed in the book of Hebrews a better covenant. But Moses 
mediates in this respect because the people were afraid, the people 
were in terror, the people were in awe. And I think there is 
something there for us to learn and understand. There is continuity 
again between the covenants in this very reality, theology proper. The God who was to be feared, 
the God who was to be revered, the God who was to be honored 
and glorified at the foot of Sinai is the same God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 4, verse 29 describes 
God as a consuming fire. Doesn't the book of Hebrews quote 
that? Doesn't the book of Hebrews apply that? Doesn't the book 
of Hebrews take that and apply it in a new covenant setting? 
So often we approach God as if He's just another buddy, just 
another friend, just another being that we have intercourse 
with. But rather, He is the God of heaven and earth, the consuming 
fire. There is something to be learned from Israel in this respect. 
They were in terror before God. There was a holy fear, a righteous 
reverence before the One who is altogether majestic. We need to have that in the church 
today. We need to understand that when 
we come into this place, it is to have dealings with God. Certainly 
there's that social element. Do that in the back. Do that 
after the service. When we come in here, hopefully 
your hearts are warm and your desire is to meet with God. The same is true when you come 
to the scriptures. Why do Christians read their Bibles? Because they 
have to. No, because they get to meet 
God there. This book is a vehicle by which we come face to face 
with the living and true God. Again, an improper predication. 
We don't see his face, his spirit. He does not have a body like 
men, but through his words, speaking to us in the language of Gil, 
it is publicly, it is audibly, it is clearly, it is distinct. 
Brethren, we can learn from the foot of Sinai that there is a 
place for holy fear before our holy God. In Hebrews, I've already 
alluded to the passage, let me just read it in its context. 
Hebrews chapter 12, again a new covenant application of an old 
covenant principle, that our God is a consuming fire. Our 
God must be feared. Our God must be revered. In Hebrews 
12, 25, see that you do not refuse him who speaks. Sounds just like 
Moses, doesn't it? You need to hear. You need to 
understand. You need to do. See that you 
do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape who 
refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape 
if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose voice 
then shook the earth. But now he has promised, saying 
yet once more, I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now 
this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that 
are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things 
which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving 
a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we 
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for 
our God is a consuming fire." It's not 429 in Deuteronomy, 
it's 424. Look at what Paul says, the author 
of Hebrews, Moses himself. Let us have grace by which we 
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Notice 
what grace does not promote. Grace does not promote a man-centered 
approach to God. Grace does not promote this idea 
that we're free to do whatever we want. No, we are to approach 
God acceptably. Who defines what is acceptable? 
God the Lord defines what is acceptable. Notice as well what 
grace does not promote. It does not promote irreverence. It does not promote a frivolity. It does not promote a context 
where persons tell jokes and entertain in the name of Jesus. 
But rather grace promotes an acceptable worship that is with 
reverence and godly fear. And the reason for that is because 
grace has taught our hearts to fear. Grace has shown us this 
God who is a consuming fire. And by this grace, we come to 
Him in the manner that is appropriate to Him. So at the foot, Plains 
of Moab, Moses again reminds the second generation, you need 
to hear the word of God. You need to obey the word of 
God. You've had the privilege of a 
covenant God. You've had the privilege of a 
speaking God. You've had the privilege of this 
one bringing you to himself. Now note, secondly, the preface 
to the Decalogue. The preface to the Decalogue, 
three things I want to consider. First, the identity of the lawgiver. This is important. The Decalogue 
is grounded in who God is and what He has done. The Decalogue 
is grounded in who God is and in what He has done. Again, you 
see the new covenant application of this. Our approach to sanctification 
is grounded in the fact of who God is and what He's done. God 
is gracious. God is merciful. God has saved 
us by our Lord Jesus Christ. What He is, or who He is rather, 
and what He has done. The same is true here on the 
plains of Moab. Note the identity of the lawgiver. He said, I am the Lord your God. See, oftentimes we call the Old 
Testament the law of Moses. Now, there's nothing wrong with 
that inherently because Moses mediated. Moses was under inspiration 
when he wrote. Moses was a tool that God used 
to speak the truth to Israel. But we mustn't ever think that 
the law originated with Moses. Moses didn't have the intellect 
and the ability and the wherewithal to sit under a tree and write 
down the first five books. Moses is the vehicle by which 
the revelation of God comes, he said. The Ten Commandments 
are often referred to as the law of Moses. Again, it's not 
necessarily wrong to do so, but we need to make sure that the 
law did not originate with Moses, but he is simply the vehicle 
by which that law has been revealed to Israel and to the church. Notice, I am the Lord your God 
who brought you out of the land of Egypt. The first place, he 
is the Lord God. This underscores his authority. 
He is the omnipotent one. He is the sovereign one. He is 
from everlasting to everlasting. When you see in your Bibles that 
capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that is a reference 
to God's name revealed by him to Moses in Exodus chapter 3 
at verse 14. Remember when God appears to 
Moses in the burning bush and Moses says, who shall I say sent 
me? And God says, I am who I am. And that has perplexed persons 
probably over the years, but that is the language of our covenant 
God. I am, or we might say Yahweh. Some persons say Jehovah. Jehovah, 
Yahweh all refers to what is called the Tetragrammaton. of 
Exodus 3.14. Tetragrammaton means four letters. Y-H-W-H. The vowels have been supplied 
in one sense to produce the word Jehovah or in probably a closer 
sense to produce the word Yahweh. And so when God says, I am the 
Lord your God, this highlights the reality that He is the Covenantal 
God. He is the I Am. He is the One 
who reveals Himself in this special way. Commenting on Exodus 3.14 
and the Divine Name, Stephen Charnock says it signifies his 
immutability as well as his eternity. Immutability, if I had that same 
piece of paper, I'd pass it out and I'd say, what is immutability 
made? And hopefully you'd say it means that God is without 
change. And if I said, what is a subset 
of immutability? You'd say the doctrine of divine 
impassibility. We're just rehearsing some things 
that have happened to our church over the last several months. 
It signifies his immutability as well as his eternity. I am the Lord. I am Yahweh, your 
God. Francis Turretin commenting on 
the divine name Yahweh. But since eternal existence, 
omnipotent power, and immutable truth belongs to God alone, the 
name Jehovah, which embraces all these three, ought to be 
peculiar to Him alone. Notice what Turretin says. The 
name Jehovah embraces God's eternal existence, His omnipotent power, 
and His immutable truth. Bovink says that Yahweh describes 
him as the one who in his grace remains forever faithful. So 
with that covenant name of Yahweh or capital L-O-R-D as you have 
it there in the New King James or probably the ESV and the NIV 
I would assume as well. But what we have is the covenantal 
name of our God. The fact is, He is eternal. The 
fact is, He is immutable. The fact is, He is faithful. 
His faithfulness is sure. His faithfulness is rock solid. His faithfulness is as good as 
His very being. And notice the personal nature 
of this God. I am the Lord, look at that next 
word, your God. I am the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God, Israel. I am not Baal. I am not Moloch. I am not the 
gods of the heathen surrounding. I am rather your God. I belong 
to you, and you belong to me. This is the language of covenant 
again. What is the apex or the pinnacle 
of God's covenant with men? I will be their God, and they 
shall be my people." Isn't this what thrills us when we get to 
Revelation 21, when John sees the new Jerusalem coming down 
out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband? and God the 
Lord rehearses the blessings of the covenant, and one of the 
things that he specifies is, Behold, I will be your God, and 
you shall be my people. This is the scuff of true saving 
religion. I am the Lord your God. Perhaps 
we understand it in its new covenant setting when Paul the Apostle 
says, The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith 
in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Perhaps we understand it in its 
new covenant setting in John 20, 28. on the resurrection of 
our Lord Jesus and His appearance to Thomas. Thomas goes from doubter 
to confessor. Thomas goes from one who says, 
I will not unless I touch the wounds. He sees Christ and he 
says, my Lord and my God. This is the blessing of true 
and saving religion that the people of God can call Him mine. The people of God can call Him 
ours. The people of God can call Him 
Abba, Father. As we read that this morning 
in the Confession Study, it says, Abba, Father. And there's a marginal 
note in the New King James, it says, Abba is the Aramaic for 
Father. So what we have is we call Him 
Father! Father! We have this relationship 
with our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is 
a personal God. He is a covenantal God. He is 
immutable. He is eternal. He is faithful, 
and He ever remains faithful to His people in His graciousness. There is a world of blessed theology 
in the preface to the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue is grounded in 
who God is. Notice, secondly, the activity 
of the Lawgiver, what He has done. His personal involvement. I am the Lord your God who brought 
you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
Notice in Exodus 2, 23 and 24. Exodus chapter 2, 23 and 24. 
God observed Israel's sufferings. Exodus 2, 23 and 24. Now it happened in the process 
of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel 
groaned because of the bondage and they cried out. And their 
cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their 
groaning. Isn't that beautiful? God heard 
their groaning. God hears your groaning. Paul 
tells us he does in Romans 8. The Spirit bears witness, or 
the Spirit rather testifies. The Spirit intercedes for us. 
There are times we don't even pray as we ought. But when we 
groan and the Spirit is present with us, God the Lord hears us. This is a blessed manifestation 
of the reality that God is our God. God heard their groaning. 
God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with 
Jacob. Again, improper predication. God doesn't remember. God always 
has all knowledge right before Him all the time. In fact, it's 
not before Him. He knows everything always. No 
remembrance involved with God. The language of the Scripture 
is in the manner of men. It is teaching us in the way 
that we can affirm and understand. Our God never remembers. He never forgets. Our God doesn't 
grow. He doesn't diminish. He doesn't 
increase. He doesn't get better. He doesn't get more knowledgeable. 
He doesn't wake up on Tuesday and say, wow, Israel is groaning. That's for us, brethren, to reveal 
to us our covenant God, that He hears the cries of His people 
and that He remembers His covenant and He acts upon it. Notice in 
chapter 3 at verse 7. The Lord said, I have surely 
seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard 
their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Isn't that beautiful? I know their sorrows. Do you 
think he knew their sorrows, but he doesn't know our sorrows? 
Do you think he knew Israel's sorrows in Egypt, but he doesn't 
know what you're going through? He doesn't have any understanding 
whatsoever. He doesn't know the trials that you face. He doesn't 
know the hardships, the difficulties. He doesn't know the people in 
your life that are a real problem. He doesn't know the circumstances 
in your life that are a real problem. God says to Moses, I 
know their sorrows. Isn't that great? God knows our 
sorrows. God is there to act for us in 
the midst of our sorrows. 6-5, 6-5, same idea. And I have also heard the groaning 
of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, 
and I have remembered my covenant. You see, He not only knows their 
sufferings, but He acts upon His covenant. He acts providentially, 
He acts powerfully, He acts personally. God delivers His people from 
their oppression. God sees them in Egypt groaning, 
and God comes and He breaks them out of that oppression. His deliverance 
of Israel is ultimately for His glory, His deliverance of Israel 
is ultimately because of the covenant He swore to Abraham, 
and His deliverance is ultimately for their well-being. Going back to Deuteronomy chapter 
5, I am the Lord your God. who brought you out of the land 
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." The Decalogue is grounded 
in who God is and what God has done, the identity of the lawgiver 
and the activity of the lawgiver. Listen to Westminster Larger 
Catechism 101. The preface to the Ten Commandments 
is contained in these words. Notice I'm reading this after. 
If I had read it before, you'd probably say, well, why did you 
need to talk 20 minutes after? Because they'd said everything 
you just said, and they said it a whole lot better. The preface 
to the Ten Commandments is contained in these words, I am the Lord 
thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out 
of the house of bondage. wherein God manifesteth His sovereignty 
as being Jehovah, the eternal, immutable, and almighty God, 
having His being in and of Himself." That is a glorious statement. 
Having His being in and of Himself. God is not dependent. God is independent. Aseity is 
the theological description of that particular attribute. of 
God. It is a good thing. He is not 
dependent upon us, we are dependent upon Him. Anyways, having His 
being in and of Himself, I think they're fleshing out Exodus 3.14 
in this particular instance, and giving being to all His words 
and works. and that he is a God in covenant, 
as with Israel of old, so with all his people, who as he brought 
them out of their bondage in Egypt, listen to this, so he 
delivereth us from all our spiritual thralldom. Great word, thralldom. our bondage, our misery, our 
jail, our prison. As he brought them out of their 
bondage in Egypt, so he delivereth us from our spiritual thralldom, 
and that therefore we are bound to take for him our God alone 
and to keep all his commandments. The implications of this preface 
and with what follows, or with what follows, is the idea that 
the context for the Ten Commandments finds its tap roots in redemptive 
grace. God brings Israel out of bondage. Now God tells them how they are 
to live. Sounds like what we heard this 
morning in chapter 13. Is it 13? in the Confession of 
Faith. God freely justifies us by His 
grace. God saves us without a helper, 
without assistance, without somebody adding to it. God saves us by 
grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That is the 
context upon which the command now comes to go. to conduct yourself 
in a manner worthy of the gospel. We are saved by grace and then 
we receive the commanding word of God as to how then we are 
to live. Every other religious system 
says, go do this and then get saved. God says, I'm going to 
save you so that you'll go do this. It's beautiful. If you 
have a mind for the particular term, it's the indicative and 
the imperative. Non-redemptive religion, non-Christian 
religion teaches the imperative. You go do this and then good 
things happen. The indicative is good things 
have happened. Christ has died. Christ has been 
raised. Christ sits enthroned at the 
right hand of God. All those who by the grace of 
God look to Him, they will live. That's an indicative. We have 
been saved. We have been justified. This 
is true of us. Now the imperative comes. Go 
live in a manner that is consistent with being a new man in Christ 
Jesus. Walter Kaiser says with reference 
to the Decalogue, the lawgiver places his law in the environment 
of grace, for it was his gracious act of redemption and deliverance 
from Egypt that revealed his name Yahweh. Kiel and Delitzsch, 
this glorious act to which Israel owed its existence, as an independent 
nation, was peculiarly fitted as a distinct and practical manifestation 
of unmerited divine love, to kindle in the hearts of the people 
the warmest love in return and to incite them to keep the commandments. When we get to commandments 1 
to 10 and we ask the question, why is it that we should do this? Because God the Lord has brought 
you out of the house of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Why is it that I should resist 
the tendency to engage in the sorts of things my friends do? 
Why is it that I should resist the tendency to engage in fornication? Or in drug use, or in any manner 
of wickedness. Because God the Lord has freed 
you. He has brought you out of bondage. 
He has saved you by His marvelous grace. And He is calling you 
to live consistently with that. Isn't this Paul's argument in 
1 Corinthians chapter 6? when He is exhorting the Corinthians 
not to lay with harlots. Why should they lay with harlots? 
Why should they join what Christ has saved to another, to an immoral 
person? You have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your 
body and your soul. You see, the indicative and the 
imperative, God has saved us freely by His grace, and now 
He calls us to live in a particular way. That's the thrust and the 
emphasis that we find with this preface. God has freed them. God now tells them how they are 
to live. Of course, the New Testament 
manifests this same pattern. Romans 1 to 11 is the indicative 
of the Gospel. This is how God has saved you. 
Man was universally depraved, universally under condemnation, 
universally under sin and liable to judgment and punishment from 
God most high. No one by the works of the law 
could be justified in his sight, but now the righteousness of 
God is revealed. The righteousness that is witnessed 
to by the law and prophets, that righteousness which is from God 
through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul opens up that gospel, he 
expounds and explains the intricacies And then when he gets to chapter 
12, guess what happens? There's imperative. There is 
a command. Therefore, brethren, I beseech 
you by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice 
unto the Lord, which is your reasonable or rational service, 
based on the reality that He has justified you freely by His 
grace, that He has saved you from your thralldom, that He 
has brought you into this theater of redemptive blessing, Now, 
present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Ephesians chapters 
1 to 3, what do we find? Doctrine. We find Paul expounding 
the truth of the gospel. We find Paul expounding the truth 
of election, our predestination unto salvation in Jesus Christ. It's in chapters 4, 5, and 6 
that we get what? We get the practical imperatives. We get this is how you ought 
to live in light of the fact that you have been freed from 
this spiritual thralldom. So brethren, that's the preface. 
A couple things by application, then we close. First, we need 
to understand the uniqueness of the Decalogue. This may seem 
a little bit of a radical shift from what we were just saying, 
but we need, as we approach this particular section of scripture, 
to understand the uniqueness of the Decalogue. Israel's law 
was divided into three particulars. There was a three-fold division 
within the law in Israel. Now, there are many today that 
say this is not the case. There are many today who call 
this reformed principle into question. They say, well, it 
originated with Aquinas, and that's simply not the case. There's 
a book by a man named Philip Ross called The Finger of God, 
and it's an argument for the threefold division of God. It's 
an excellent book. I highly recommend it. But the 
threefold division is the ceremonial law, the judicial law, and the 
moral law. This is the moral law of God, 
the Decalogue. This is foundational. The ceremonies 
were those things unique to Israel. Things like sacrifice, things 
like priesthood, things like not eating jackdaw, things like 
not eating carrion vultures. There were ceremonial aspects 
to Israel's life in the land. There was the judicial law, that 
law which regulated Israel as a body politic in the land that 
they went to be in. Now, according to our confession, 
the only one that remains in terms of that threefold division 
is the moral law. The ceremonial is fulfilled in 
the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The judicial law, according to 
chapter 19 in our confession, expired with that people. However, 
there is a general equity. That means that if there's wisdom 
to be found in the Old Testament judicial law, we would be fools 
not to entertain those things and not to learn those things 
and not, by the grace of God, to apply those things. But it 
is the moral law that abides. The second, or 19.2 in our confession 
says the same law that was first written in the heart of man. 
Let's talk about Adam and Eve. You need to see continuity between 
Adam and Eve and Moses. You need to see continuity between 
the garden and Sinai. You need to see that there was 
no new law given at Sinai, but rather it was a codification 
or a summary statement of what had already been. He asked the 
question, how is it that there was punishment for violations 
of the Decalogue prior to Exodus 20? There most certainly was, 
there most certainly were, there were punishments for those who 
had indeed broken those laws. Philip Ross develops that as 
well. It's an excellent book. I can't commend it highly enough. 
The same law that was first written in the heart of man, Adam, continued 
to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall and was delivered 
by God upon Mount Sinai in Ten Commandments and written in two 
tables, the four first containing our duty towards God and the 
other six, our duty to man. John Lightfoot says this, Adam 
heard as much in the garden as Israel did at Sinai, but only 
in fewer words and without thunder. So it's the same law, the moral 
law. God made Adam. God put this on 
his heart and this is what is codified in Sinai or at Sinai. The identification, I've already 
mentioned 10 commandments, 10 words, hence the name Decalogue. 
It's interesting, the ceremonial law and the judicial law do not 
get this description that the Ten Commandments were written 
with the finger of God, hence the name of Philip Ross's book, 
From the Finger of God, The Threefold Division of the Law. He argues 
persuasively that you cannot say that about the ceremonial 
or the judicial. It is only the decalogue, it 
is only the moral law that is written with the finger of God. 
Notice in Exodus 24.12. Exodus 24, 12. Now, there again 
are those out there that say, well, this is not a big deal. 
This is no big argument. God specifies that he writes 
this particular law with his own finger. Again, an improper 
predication because the spirit doesn't have a finger. It's teaching 
us something about the intimacy and the personalness of God's 
revelation of this 10 words. I just want to look at these 
finger of God passages, and I want to remind you that it was the 
Decalogue, the moral law, this abiding law that was placed in 
the Ark of the Covenant according to Exodus 40 and Deuteronomy 
10. But notice in Exodus 24.12. Then the Lord said to Moses, 
come up to me on the mountain and be there and I will give 
you tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I 
have written that you may teach them." Now notice at 31.18, 31.18, 
this idea of God writing specifically this moral law. 31.18, and when 
he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave 
Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone. written with 
the finger of God." 34-1 in Exodus. And the Lord said to Moses, cut 
two tablets of stone like the first ones and I will write on 
these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which 
you broke. The end of verse 28 in the same 
chapter and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant the 
Ten Commandments. You see, there's something particular 
and unique about this abiding moral law of God. The same is 
stated in Deuteronomy 4, verse 13, Deuteronomy 5, 22, Deuteronomy 
9, 10, Deuteronomy 10, 4. You get the point. There's something 
uniquely connected or uniquely intimate between God and this 
moral law. It is the revelation of His character, 
and this moral law transcends any covenantal What is the word? Trans-covenantal in nature. In 
other words, it does not matter what covenant is in place, this 
moral law still regulates the conduct of the people. The old 
covenant, it was the Ten Commandments. The new covenant, guess what? 
It's the Ten Commandments. How do we know that? Jeremiah 
31, 31 to 34. The prophet says that God will 
write his law on their hearts and they will not depart from 
him. That was the moral law, and that is what we, by grace, 
have been given in this new covenant setting. So we need to appreciate 
the uniqueness. We need to appreciate, secondly, 
the abiding validity of that decalogue. Again, Second London 
Confession, 19.5, the moral law does forever bind all, as well 
justified persons as others to the obedience thereof, and that 
not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in 
respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither 
doth Christ in the Gospel anyway dissolve, but much strengthen 
this obligation." So when we've been saved by grace under Christ, 
he doesn't say, well, you can just live however you want. No, 
he points us back to that law so that we have a pattern of 
sanctification. And that brings us, thirdly, to the threefold 
use of the law. How do we use the law? Paul says 
in 1 Timothy 1, we know that the law is good if one uses it 
lawfully. What does that imply? There are 
unlawful uses of the law. To take the ten words and say, 
hey, if I just do this, I'm going to go to heaven. That is an unlawful 
use. You cannot obey God perpetually, 
perfectly, exactly, or entirely. You cannot do it because you're 
a sinner in Adam. There's only one who's ever done 
it, and it's by grace through faith in him that we are saved. But the law is useful in the 
first place in the civil sense, and this simply means the political 
or civil use according to which the law serves the commonwealth 
or body politic as a force for the restraint of sin. In other 
words, God's law functions in such a way as to keep people 
from being as wicked as they possibly could. It has a restraining 
influence upon persons. The second use is the pedagogical. That means child tutor. That 
means the law shows us our need for Christ. That's one of the 
emphases that we're going to place when we work through these 
commandments. You see, it's not going to be, 
I want you to have a better, happier life. I do want you to 
have a better, happier life. But I know that the law can leave 
us bloodied, bruised, and battered. And we need to understand that 
the law should drive us to our Lord. Even as believers, even 
as Christians, we ought to repair to the cross. Augustine describes 
the pedagogical use this way, though I doubt he, maybe he did 
call it the pedagogical. Through the law, God opens man's 
eyes so that he sees his helplessness and by faith takes refuge to 
his mercy and is healed. The law shows us our need for 
Christ. John Bunyan said, the man who 
does not know the nature of the law cannot know the nature of 
sin. And he who does not know the 
nature of sin cannot know the nature of the Savior. You see, 
we need to preach the law so that people value grace. We need 
to preach the law so people will treasure Christ. We need to preach 
the law so that men will be seekers after divine mercy. So we've 
got the civil, the pedagogical, and thirdly, the normative use. 
That means that Christians justified by God's grace look at the law 
to define for us what proper conduct is. Christians seek, 
by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live in 
obedience to the law of God, not for our salvation, but because 
we have been saved. Augustine, again, the law was 
given in order that we might seek grace. Grace was given in 
order that we might fulfill the law. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that glorious? Isn't that 
Reformed theology in the mouth of Augustine? He may have been 
whacked on the sacraments and on ecclesiology, but the man 
knew grace. And this is worthy of repetition. The law was given in order that 
we might seek grace. Grace was given in order that 
we might fulfill the law. Francis Turretin says, before 
it, the law, was an instrument of the spirit of bondage to throw 
down and bruise man. But afterwards, it becomes the 
instrument of the spirit of adoption to promote sanctification. Thus, 
the law leads to Christ, and Christ leads us back to the law. It leads to Christ as the Redeemer, 
and Christ leads to the law as the leader and director of life. The law shows us our need for 
the cross. We, by grace, lay hold of the 
cross, and then Jesus says, now go live like this. It truly is 
a beautiful thing. It truly is a wonderful thing. The commandments of God are not 
burdensome. to those who have been taught 
to fear God by His grace. John the Apostle says as much. 
The commandments are not grievous, they're not burdensome. May it 
be the case in our study of the Decalogue that we, by the Spirit, 
are more conformed to that Psalm 1 man. In his law, he meditates 
day and night. Grace has come. to show us or 
to give us this forgiveness and grace was given in order that 
we might seek to fulfill the law. We'll pray to God Almighty 
that we will indeed be accurate in our exposition and our understanding 
of these words for the glory of God and for our good as well. Let's pray. Father, thank you 
for the Scriptures and thank you for both the Old and the 
New Testaments, and we give all praise and glory to you for salvation. And we give all praise and glory 
to you that you are our covenant God who has saved, solely and 
alone, by your power and by your majesty and according to the 
working of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we indeed appreciate this 
redemptive context, and may we indeed appreciate the need by 
the Spirit to pursue those things which are pleasing in your sight. 
May it not be the case that we are legalists on the one hand 
or antinomians on the other, but may we be that man who has 
the proper response to the word, to the law, and may we walk in 
accordance with these things for your glory, for your honor, 
and for our own well-being. And we pray now that you would 
go with us and watch over each and every one in our church, 
and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.